~ Adventures of a 20-year bonsai beginner

Tag Archives: pads

In my years in bonsai, I have noted a consistent interest from non-bonsai folk regarding whether we name our trees. I name trees only when I need to distinguish one from another of the same species. I call this boxwood “Concord2.”

It was retrieved from a trash pile on the curb along Concord Drive. At the time it had three trunks. I split this twin trunk (it got to be #2 because it has two trunks) from its sibling tree, a single trunk tree I call Concord1 (one trunk). Concord1 is the tree in this recent post.

Well, now that I have bored everyone let show you what is am up to with Concord2. (And I’ll try not to explain any future names.)

The photo above is how Concord2 looked when it was shown last fall. Even as it was on display, I was planning changes. I’d like the foliage to be more layered and complex with multiple pads rather than just the three foliage masses it had then. Today I took the first steps toward that goal.

Here’s how it looked with fresh spring growth before work began.

And here it is after.

This is just a step down the road, and it is clearly not refined. Some branches were removed, others were repositioned with wire, and one branch on the back toward the top will be removed eventually, but for now I am going to let it grow out as a sacrifice branch.

It doesn’t look like much at the moment, but it is on a good path for the future. I think I will slip this into a slightly larger pot to grow. I look forward to sharing its progress in the future.